Breaking Boundaries
by SweetestFlowersofMidnight
Summary: Edward is the Prince of a kingdom where servants are not even allowed to be seen by royalty. Bella is a servant at this palace. One day, she is found as she is cleaning the Prince's room, and immediately a spark ignites. Can they find a way to change the Kingdom's policies enough so that they can be together? Or will it lead them down a path of utter destruction?
1. The Prince's Laundry

**So! I was going to wait to start this story until I finished with my other one, but this idea has been floating around my head for too long and was just begging to be written, and so here I am, writing this story. It's quite different from my other story, but, I like this one.**

**Also, here is my DISCLAIMER FOR THE WHOLE STORY: I do not possess anything that originates from Twilight. Sadly.**

**Anyway! I do hope this is enjoyable, and I hope that you might feel so possessed to review because the story was so enjoyable. :) **

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Questions kept on running through her mind as she moved about the hallways, a nice big basket filled with freshly cleaned laundry on her hip. That had been her project for the day, clean the Prince's clothing to perfection. Fix it where it needed fixing, make sure it was still colorful, make sure it was in the condition it was when he first got. And then, then she was to put it back into his room where it belonged and slip out. Never seen by the Prince. None of the servants were supposed to be seen by the Prince, or any of the royal family. Only one of them spoke to the royals, so he could then deal out jobs to everyone else.

The Prince wasn't going to be back in the castle for another couple of hours, so she had plenty of time to finish her job for the day. But, she knew it was essential that she was never seen by any of the royals. Oh, she had seen them. And she always wondered why it was that they weren't allowed to be seen by them. That was one of the questions that kept running through her mind while she worked.

Also, she couldn't help but wonder if she stayed hidden because she was an ugly creature. She was a small girl, weak in many ways. She was a good cook, and a good cleaner. On occasion, one of her meals was requested specifically by the Prince, sometimes the King, and every once in a while, the Queen and Princess would request something that she was good at making, and so that would be her job for the day. She wondered why it was that they sometimes wanted things she made and not what the full time cook made. Of course, she never questioned out loud.

Moments later she found herself in the Prince's chambers – the look of them being completely and totally spotless. The cleaners had already taken care of his room. They always took care of the Royal's rooms first and foremost. That way, if they stopped back during the middle of the day, the room was cleaned and they would not have to worry much about it later on in the day. Which got her wondering if the Prince was going to do something unexpected and show up far too early for her to finish her job. She would get into so much trouble if the Prince saw her.

Taking a deep breath, she moved quickly to the dresser and started to place the Prince's clothing where it belonged, keeping it all nice and neatly folded in the process as she did so. She was gently placing every piece of clothing where it belonged, sitting in the floor in her simple black working dress when she saw the door knob to the bedroom turn and she froze, the next second, the Prince walked through and she knew she was going to be in serious trouble.

Hopefully, he wouldn't notice her in the room as she quickly finished up her task. As soon as she was finished, she glanced back over at the door to see him standing there in all his regal glory, just looking at her. Simply and sweetly, staring at her, sort of looking perplexed as to why she was standing there in front of him. Taking a deep breath, she stood and looked at the floor before curtsying to him, "Your majesty," she said before starting to head out of the room, slipping past him.

"Wait," he said, his voice the sound of sweet, thick honey. Just like she thought it would sound like, coming out of someone that looked like him. His hair, this gorgeous coppery color that made his green eyes seem to sparkle even more. And even on top of that, his rustic colored tunic was a wonderful color against his skin.

"Yes, your majesty?" she said, her heart thudding in her chest. How was she going to keep from getting in trouble? How was she supposed to keep from getting herself beaten for her mistake? They had told her he wouldn't be back for hours … but now here he was. Home early.

"What's … what's your name? I never see any of the servants here," he said, his forehead drawn together as he looked at her, making her heart thump more furiously and even louder than before.

"Isabella Swan, your majesty. And I must go before they wonder where I am. I do hope your clothing has been cleaned to your satisfaction," she said softly, her voice just barely above a whisper, but loud enough that she was sure he could hear her.

"Isabella. What a pretty name," he said to her, musing as he stepped to the side, "I won't tell on you. It's my fault I came back early. I know you were taught that we're not supposed to see you. Have a good day, Isabella, and I know my clothing will be cleaned beyond what is expected," he said, smiling gently at her, making her heart flutter.

"Thank you, your majesty. Have a wonderful night, your majesty," she said, curtsying again before scurrying out into the hallway and then into the servants stairwell so she could slip down to the laundry room to place the basket, and then to the dining area to find the food she was being given for this day's dinner. It was just a simple bowl of cold soup and a hunk of slightly stale bread. The things the Royal's weren't going to be eating at all. The better the food, the higher up you had to be.

And Bella most certainly wasn't very high up on that chain. She was almost as far to the bottom as she could get. Taking her food, she took a seat at one of the few tables they kept for them to eat at, and she waited for her friends to join her. Or rather her only friend, Angela. She ate slowly until her friend showed up, wearing a dress exactly the same as her own and taking a place across from her with her bowl of soup and hunk of slightly stale bread.

"How was laundry duty today?" Angela asked as she sat down across from Bella.

"Like usual. Long, and resulting in shriveled finger tips for a couple of hours," she said, "How was prep work in the kitchen?" she asked as she took a sip of her soup as she smiled at her friend.

"Oh, you know, lots of chopping, some tearing up when the onions rolled around. Those sorts of things. Nothing terribly interesting, except that I was told by the chef that he might like me to be on prep duty more often, I might be getting a more permanent position in the kitchen," smiling excitedly.

Everyone knew that the jobs in the kitchen are the best ones to get. They treat you the best and often times you got to test out different sorts of food that they were working on, make sure that it was at last half way decent so when it reached the mouths of the royals they would know it would taste alright.

"That's fantastic, Angie," she said, smiling brightly, "That's awesome for you. If you do get more jobs in the kitchen, sometimes you will definitely have to bring me something to eat and stuff, you know?" she said, smiling gently at the girl.

"Definitely will. We'll have left over parties on occasion," Angela said to Bella with a bright smile before she decided to change topics a bit, "Did anything interesting happen to you today?" she asked.

"Well … there was one thing, but … I'm not sure if it's appropriate if I share. If it got to the wrong ears, I could be in some serious trouble. Even though it wasn't my fault it happened," she said, frowning a little bit as she thought over her encounter with the Prince.

"Tonight, then. You'll tell me tonight. Before we go to sleep you can tell me. That way people are less likely to hear us talking, right?" Angela said, eager to know what it was that might have been going through her friends mind that had her so worried about people hearing.

"Okay. I'll tell you everything interesting about my day once it's time for us to go to bed, does that sound like an alright plan?" she said.

Angela nodded, then. "Most definitely. And the interesting part of your day better be worth my waiting to hear about it from you, alright?"

Bella just smiled and nodded in response to what was being said. "Oh, I am absolutely certain you will enjoy my little story about the event that happened today," she told her before she smiled a bit, finishing her food and moving to bring the dishes and set them gently where they belonged, where they would be ready to be cleaned. "I'll see you later, I'm going to go get my job for tomorrow and then head to our room. When you get there, I'll start telling you all about my little interesting piece of the day," she said, smiling a little bit before leaving the room to find what she was doing the next day.

She made her way quickly and silently through the walls, making her steps light so she couldn't be heard if anyone was walking past her in the actual hallways or down the actual stair cases. When she reached the chart of duties and names, she saw she was once again placed on laundry duty. Sighing, just a little bit, she made her way to her quarters, slipping inside and then out of her black dress and into something more comfortable for sleeping.

Shortly after she changed into her pajamas, Angela was slipping into the room. "I'm on kitchen duty again," she said, smiling at her friend, "You've already changed. I take it that means you don't want to do anything else tonight? I was hearing talk of a gathering for story telling among some of the other servants," she suggested, though Bella just shook her head a little bit, not all that interested in the prospect.

"Alright, then. You have to tell me what happened to you today, the interesting bit," she said, smiling as she sat down across from her friend and eagerly awaited the story. Angela hand managed to change into her own sleeping cloths rather quickly, and now it seemed the both of them were ready for their night. They turned in early, since they had to wake so far before the sun did so they would be able to accomplish all the tasks that needed to be attended to.

"Okay, well," Bella started, trying to think of the best way she could talk about this day's interesting moment, "I kinda was found while I was putting away the Prince's laundry, by the Prince. He most definitely saw me. And actually, the coolest part of all that, was, well, he talked to me. Angie, he asked me what my name was, he wanted to talk to me. I mean, I got out of there as fast as possible, and he promised me he wouldn't tell that he had seen me. Which is kind of nice and Angie … he was so handsome," she said to the girl, falling back on her bed.

"Just like those servant girls that get to tend to him more often say. And his voice … they never hear him talk, because he's always so busy doing things, but, his voice sounds like that beautiful honey. Rich and sweet like," she said, smiling a little bit as she remembered what his voice had sounded like, how sweet It had been when he had spoken to her. Said her name.

Angela just looked at Bella a little bit, her jaw dropped a little bit. "No way … one of the royals talked to you? Like … actually talked to you?" she said, just a little bit in awe of the situation at hand.

"Yeah. He actually talked to me. The Prince. He talked to me. And he isn't going to get me in trouble, that's the even more amazing part of it. I had always thought that if one of them spotted me, they would end up reporting me. Get me in trouble over all of it. But he said he wouldn't, and the crazy thing is, I believe him. I don't think he is going to report me. I think … I think I'm going to be safe from that, you know? I mean, I don't think them seeming me once would ruin my life here, but it would certainly give me less desirable jobs and worse food and what not, but, beyond that, I don't think anything would happen to me," she said to Angela, "Regardless though … it was a crazy experience," she said.

Angela just shook her head a little bit as she took a deep breath. "Wow, Bella, that's … that's insane. I swear I won't let word get out, because I am sure there are some girls that would just love to report that incident. I mean, he is the Prince after all," the girl said before Bella nodded a little bit.

"Well, I think that was the most exciting thing that is ever, and I mean ever, going to happen to me," Bella said simply as Angela just rolled her eyes.

"Uh, huh. And what if the Prince wants to see you again?" Angela asked, an eyebrow being slowly raised at her.

"I highly doubt it," she said, shaking her head a little bit at the situation, "Why on earth would someone that was of royalty be interested in me? Just a servant, and I'm lucky to even be that much in this world," Bella said to Angela.

"Well, you are rather beautiful, you know. Prettier than most people – even some of the royalty that has visited the castle and everything," Angela said.

"Angie! You can't mean that! I mean … I'm just plain, boring. Why on earth would you ever think there was anything special about me. Because I promise there is absolutely nothing interesting or special about the kind of person I am. There's no really unique pieces to my appearance," Bella said, just rolling her eyes and looking at the ground as she didn't much like taking compliments, especially when she felt like they didn't really apply to her in truth.

Angela just rolled her eyes at the situation at hand, shaking her head a little bit. "You do not see yourself clearly at all. In the least. But! I know nothing I am going to say is going to convince you otherwise, so there's no point in my trying to convince you," Angela said to Bella with a little shrug.

"Whatever you say," Bella said, shrugging a little bit as she lay on her bed and sighed. "I have laundry duty again tomorrow, so I'm thinking I'm going to fall asleep early. I find that duty to me more exhausting than most of the others are, there are too many extra things that you are asked to accomplish for it to be a truly easy task," she said to her friend as she lay down in her bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Yeah. I get that. Get all the sleep you need, Bella. It seems that you had the most interesting day of the two of us, though, I do have to say, my news has a better long term effect for us both," she said simply, smiling at her friend as she took her own bed.

Bella just smiled and laughed a little bit at Angela's comment. "I suppose you are right. But for now … I think I just want to go to sleep. I'm drained. We can gossip more tomorrow night, how about that? We'll see if I have another interesting day with my laundry duty and if you have another interesting day in the kitchen. If your's involves bringing food back to our room, for some reason, you automatically win the best day, you know," she said to Angela with a smile.

"Alright, Bella," the girl said, sounding as if she was far more tired than she had let on.

"Good. Night, Angie," she called to her friend.

"Night," a sleepy voice called back to her.

And, in absolutely no time at all, the two young servants were fast asleep, dreaming wonderful dreams.

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**Well! The next chapter will be up in a week, unless I get so many reviews that I post early as a means of thanking everyone for their reviews. Just keep that in mind. :) Have a wonderful day, and I do hope you enjoyed what you read. **


	2. Isabella

**Oh, did I mention the other time that each chapter will switch off point of views? That's right ... I hope you enjoy this one in Edward's POV! **

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"I am telling you, it is strange," Edward insisted to his sister, the princess Alice as they rode through the fields surrounding their castle. It was a ritual of theirs, something they would do rather frequently. Any time they need to escape the confines of their lives, the horrendous pressures of being royalty, they found a way to slip away from the world and hide safely out among these fields, and allow themselves, then, to speak freely without fear of being over heard and word spreading like wildfire throughout the kingdom. Ladies of the court loved to gossip whenever they could get their hands on anything even the most remote bit intriguing.

Alice was just rolling her eyes at her finicky brother. "Not really. Most other castles as the same thing of their servants, to keep hidden and all. So it's like magic when you walk in and everything is where it's supposed to be. I know some say it's so our eye's aren't tainted by the unsavory common folk and that means we can better deal with them when they come to us with plea's for things that we must hear and heed, but, brother, you know I do not feel that way yet at the same time, I don't see why it is so strange for them to stay hidden," she said to him, explaining her position on the matter they were discussing.

Edward just shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Alice, you're not understanding me. Don't you think it's strange that they live and work for us, make specialty meals based on who's best at it, and yet we never meet the people responsible? Shouldn't we be thanking them for their hard work at the castle or something? I just feel so ungrateful all the time, and it's strange, to know that there are people that could very well be moving through the walls, right past us, and we don't even know it because they have been taught to move silently when traveling through the castle?" he said to her before sighing in exasperation, "For god's sake, I only know we have some because how else could everything be taken care of?"

"So what would you do, then? Hmm? Just have servants roaming about as they please? You know I am for equal rights more than anyone else, but you have to see how strange you are sounding at this moment," Alice said, trying to get her brother to see the reason in the situation at hand.

All he could do was shake his head at his sister. "Maybe I don't think that they should be commonly seen, allowed to roam whenever and wherever they like, but, I don't think they should be taught that to be seen by the royal family, or any visiting lords and ladies or whatever, is a crime that they can be punished for. I do not want to be feared by the very people that take care of all of the things I do not have the time to do myself," he said to his sister before taking a little bit of a breath, "Though I suppose you wouldn't understand in the same way. You aren't going to have to be on the throne one day," he said.

Suddenly he felt something hit the back of his head and Edward turned to look at his sister with a raised eyebrow, seeing the woman sitting atop her horse with her hands planted fireclay at her hips, a glare the prominent feature on her face. "How do you know I won't be the one on the thrown some day? How do you know you aren't going to get yourself killed by going into some random battle in some random war? Hmmm? And then how is the country going to fair? Fantastically, that's how. Admit it, you're lost without me," Alice said to her brother smugly.

All Edward could do was chuckle at the sight before him. "I admit it, I would be lost without you. Now … let's cut this conversation short. I know we said we wouldn't be back to the castle for a couple of hours, but I would like to retire early tonight, I think, so it be best we head back to the castle walls for the day. Tomorrow at the same time?" Edward questioned his sister, and seeing the petite woman nod, he smiled, grinning at her. "Race you back there," he stated simply before taking off at top speed with his horse.

His sister let out a squeak of protest behind him before he heard her horse following him as they hurried back to the castle, both of them unable to stop smiling and laughing in the situation at hand. There was no really good reason for this whole situation to be so entertaining, but for some reason, it was, and he just couldn't help but enjoy himself.

Once back inside the castle walls, they brought their horses to the stable and left them with the capable hands of the stable master. The people that worked with any animals were allowed to be seen by the royals, but only so they would know their animals were being cared for well and that these were respectable people. Or maybe it was because it would be too difficult to figure out a way to make it work where they were never seen. Edward could only imagine what it would be like if the stable hands weren't allowed to be seen, how on earth would they manage all the horses, then? That must be the reason they were allowed to be seen, but house staff weren't.

Sighing a little bit as the whole situation still seemed to bother him, Edward walked into the castle and headed up towards his room in his maroon garb, wondering how many people were walking through the walls at the moment, silently going about their duties that made it possible for him and his family to live so simply. Edward had never imagined that he would catch one of the staff when he wasn't supposed to, so it was a shock to him when he opened his bedroom door silently and saw a young, beautiful, woman sitting there as she worked on putting away freshly washed cloths of his.

He could tell that she knew he had entered the room by the way he had seen her stiffen, and so he decided to move around a bit, ignore her, but his eyes went back to the beauty kneeling by his drawers as she quickly put his cloths away.

She was dressed simply, so obviously one of the servants. As well as the fact that she was putting away his cloths. Her skin was extremely pale, probably because she spent all her time indoors and out of sunlight since she was constantly avoiding being seen or heard. But it was a beautiful sort of pale, the sort of pale that the court ladies tried to obtain and often times just ended up looking pasty and mal nurioused. But this girl, it was almost as if he could imagine her skin shining in moonlight or something like that.

Her hair was down, and it flowed like a chocolate waterfall down her back, resting at the small of her back. Edward found himself wanting to run his fingers through it, see if it really felt as silky as it looked. Once again, it was the sort of affect that court ladies tried to obtain, tried to ustalize so they could draw him or other nobel men into their spider webs, but no woman he had seen before could compare to her. Studying her a little bit more, he noticed she seemed to be shaking a little bit and he frowned, just for a moment.

This girl must think that he was going to get in trouble. He could never do that to such a beautiful, delicate creature. He studied her face as much as he could from the place he was standing by the door. It was heart shaped, he could tell, and her lips were plump and he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss them. Her nose was adorable, and her eyes … her eyes were a beautiful big brown. And he wished he could stare into them for a moment, study her. He wondered if they would lead him down to her soul like they appeared to be able to do. At this moment, he felt perplexed, why on earth would they want to hide a beautiful creature like this from the royals? Anyone fortunate to look upon someone as beautiful as this girl, he knew they were fortunate.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard her gentle voice, the sound of a perfectly designed wind chime dancing in the wind, and he couldn't help but wonder what her name was. Maybe … maybe if he learned her name he could find her again, since he knew she certainly wouldn't ever want to be caught by a royal again, she looked terrified as she tried to slip past him to the hallway.

"Wait," he said to her, knowing that she would stop and face him.

"Yes, your majesty?" she said, her gentle voice music to his ears, but he could sense the fear in her voice. Before he could rid her of her worries, he had to know her name.

"What's … what's your name? I never see any of the servants here," he said, trying to think of whether or not he could place her for some reason. He didn't like the worried look on her face, and he knew that it sounded like he might be going to get her in trouble, and that was the reason he was asking her name, not because he was completely enchanted by her and wanted to learn more about her, learn everything he could about this beauty.

"Isabella Swan, your majesty. And I must go before they wonder where I am. I do hope your clothing has been cleaned to your satisfaction," the girl said to him softly, making him smile a little bit. Isabella. It suited her.

"Isabella. What a pretty name," he said, wanting to see what it felt like to say her name, what it tasted like on his tongue. He found he liked the way it felt there, the way it sounded. Then he remembered she probably had work to do, as she had even told him as much, and he wanted to assure her he wouldn't do anything to get her in trouble, "I won't tell on you," he said, "It's my fault. I came back early. I know you were taught that we're not supposed to see you. Have a good day, Isabella, and I know my clothing will be cleaned beyond what is expected," he informed her, smiling gently at her and hoping that he was reassuring her.

"Thank you, your majesty. Have a wonderful night, your majesty," she said to him in her sweet, musical voice. And he watched her leave, slipping off into the walls to head towards her next destination, leaving him in a sort of trance that awed him. He stepped into his room a moment and sat himself down on his bed. That woman was enchanting. And he wanted more of her, he wanted to see her again, but that would never happen. At least not by chance. He would have to do something, he would have to make it happen, and otherwise he might never see the beautiful Isabella Swan again.

Edward could care less that she was a servant, he cared more that she was beautiful and enchanting and he wanted to know her, if he could. It would be refreshing; getting a point of view on things that wasn't from someone like him, meaning another person from royalty. Sometimes it was sickening, how conceited people seemed to be. But now … now there was no way he could get that beautiful woman out of his head.

As soon as he had recovered a little bit from the experience of running into that stunning servant, he ventured out of his room to find Alice. He had to talk to her about this. If anyone could do something to help him, to help him figure out a way to meet this girl again, talk to her, it would be her. It took him a couple of minutes to find his sister, but when he found her she was walking down the hallway toward her room, and he stopped her in her tracks by placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Alice, I have something very important to discuss with you," he said to her seriously.

"It can't be more important than me getting my hair fixed, our little race has it all messed up and I need to fix it, so make it fast," she said to him, seeming like something was annoying her. It was probably because Sir Jasper was in the building, he always seemed to have a way of messing with the way she thought. It was cute, really, and the both of them had absolutely no idea that they were destined for each other. But, of course, Edward wasn't going to be the one to ruin that surprise.

"Oh, yes, it can," Edward said to his sister, insisting that she take a few minutes to talk to him.

"Really? What could possibly be more important?" Alice asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"There's this girl I ran into … a serving girl, obviously, but she was the most beautiful thing – apart from my lovely sister here – that I have ever seen. I know … I know they're not supposed to interact with us and all, but I want to see her again. Badly. What do I do, Alice? I haven't gotten enough of her, the couple of minutes I was around her, well, I just need to see her again," he said to his sister, who's jaw had dropped throughout the course of his explanation of exactly why it was so important that they spoke at this particular moment.

Alice had to shake her head to clear her head for a moment. "Alright, that is definitely more important, but I do have to fix my hair, so come with me. We'll multitask," she said to him, smiling a little and then moved into her room, leaving the door open as they moved into her own personal bathroom.

"Are you going to take this seriously, Alice? This is involving a serving girl and quite possibly could end up screwing up the way everything works around here for a very good long time," Edward said to the girl.

"Oh, hush, Edward, everything is so life or death with you it's tiring," she said to him.

"Alice …," he said as she sat down in front of her mirror and raised an eyebrow at him before starting to work on fixing her hair back to her own standards.

"Edward … Let me speak. I know who gives all the servants the schedules for their different jobs, that's how I can make sure certain foods we like are made on certain days, and stuff. So … I am going to ask them to assign the same girl to whatever job she had yesterday, so that way you can 'accidentally' run into her at some point, okay? And! If you are still infatuated after a second day, I will side with you on your whole crazy idea of getting the servants to be allowed to be seen by us, okay?" she said, turning to look at Edward as she finished her hair.

"Yes! Thank you Alice!" Edward said, hugging his sister quickly, "And she was on laundry duty, for my clothing. Thank you, so much for this," he said to her, "You better go make sure that is set up now, so it's not too late …," he said, urging his sister to go talk to her contact, or whatever she chose to call the servant that scheduled the servants.

Hopefully, hopefully he would get to see that beautiful Isabella the next day. And maybe the same sort of feeling he had about her the day before would still be there, but if it wasn't, he was going to have to force himself not to be disappointed, but now, now he couldn't wait until the next day showed up.

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**So! I hope you like the taste of this Edward that I gave you. :) He's a very nice guy compared to some people in the castle ... ANYWAY! Leave me some love if you enjoy this story/enjoyed this chapter. **


	3. Of Course, Your Majesty

**Well, lookie here! It's a new chapter! And what is this? It's back in BPOV? Huh ... Well, enjoy! :D**

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When it was the next day, Bella found herself having little to no motivation to wake up. She had been having the most wonderful of dreams about a certain noble man that had asked her name the day before. It had been a lovely sort of dream, one that she wished she could hold onto for much longer than she was allowed to.

In her dream, she had been with him, talking to him like they were old friends. Except, there was more to their relationship than pure friend ship, there was most definitely something a little more exciting going on between the two of them. And she was thrilled to be dreaming about it. Their foreheads were pressed together and his warm breath fanned across her face, making her want to lean in and close the few inches between their lips, that they had been trying hard not to negate.

They had been talking about something important, that they didn't want to be considering, but they were being responsible. And … eventually, they reached a conclusion and suddenly their lips had met each other in an incredibly soft and pleasant kiss and the kiss just never seemed to end. It was wonderful, and of course, as it was time for her to wake up, Edward in her dream was pulling away from her lips, telling her that he had to leave for the time being, but he would be back. Good.

When she finally woke, after sleeping just a little longer than she had intended to, she hoped that what dream noble Edward had said to her meant that her dream would get to be continued when the day was over. It almost made her want to reach bed time immediately. She noticed that Angela had already left when she sat up, but it really was no surprise. The one down side to working in the kitchens was that you had to get up even earlier than everyone else.

Once awake, Bella quickly dressed herself in the plain black uniform that they all wore. She had no idea why they all were required to wear the same thing if they were never supposed to be seen by the nobles. For all they could tell, all of the servants could run around in the most awful colored and disgusting clothing they wanted. Of course, she supposed it was something that was allowing them to have control over the people that worked at the castle, keep track of everyone.

Also it was quite possible that they only had them wearing uniforms because it meant that they could tell if someone belonged with staff or not. But it didn't really matter. She far too often questioned the reason why they did things, sometimes she thought she was far too inquisitive for her own good, and sometimes it was helpful, but most of the time she thought that it would end up getting her in serious trouble one day. Currently, though, there was nothing that was getting her in trouble, which she was certainly happy about.

Remembering that she had laundry again today, she headed towards the laundry room, knowing her main concern was once again Edward's clothing. Edward that delicious, delicious human being that she would never, ever have the chance to be with. That bothered her more than it should have, knowing that she never had a true shot with a royal. After all, she came from just a regular, peasant family. There was nothing special about her that would even intrigue a royal. Then again, Edward had asked her name … but she knew that was only because she had been caught in a place that she wasn't supposed to be.

When she saw the small pile of Edwards cloths, she rolled her eyes. Those royals. They went through so much clothing in such a short amount of time. She would wash and mend his clothing as needed, and just wash the rest of the clothing that was here. Someone else would be in charge of mending those cloths and putting them back where they belonged. Probably one of the few servants that were allowed to be spotted every once in a while, since they sometimes had to deal with going into the rooms of Royalty when they were around. Of course, Edward was busy enough that there should never be an excuse as to why someone was caught while working by him. Like she had been just the day before …

Regardless, she had quite the work load to get done. She was careful to wash all the cloths tenderly, being sure not to tear anything and wanting to make sure it was in better condition than when it arrived. All the clothing was washed and then she hung it up to dry in the sunlight, all of it. By now it was time for her first of the two meals she ate a day, and with a growling stomach, she went to get her food, moving silently through the building until she reached the kitchen area where she knew Angela would be sitting and almost done eating.

Surprisingly, there was a piece of fresh bread waiting for her next to her still hot bowl of oatmeal. And she couldn't help but grin. Today was starting to be a good day. Not only she had had a wonderful dream the night before, and then she was getting some good food? This was fantastic. Did this mean that someone was favoring her? Or was it that Angela had somehow managed to get her some rather fresh bread? Either way, she would be happy with what she had and she would definitely enjoy it. Spotting her friend, she sat down next to the girl who was making eyes at a rather obvious male servant on the other end of the dining area. His name was Ben and she had been pining after him for ages, but he never seemed to notice.

"Hey, there, Angie, staring at the dreamy stable boy again?" she asked her friend as she started to eat her oatmeal, having some of her food.

"Oh, shut up. You were gushing over someone last night. And yours is even worse than mine," she said, smiling at Bella before taking a deep breath.

"You know, I bet he secretly likes you, too. That beautiful servant girl that he can't keep his eyes off but doesn't have the guts to talk to. More intimidating than any royalty that leaves their horses with him, obviously," she said to Angela with just a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Uh, huh. Whatever you say," Angela said to her as she rolled her eyes at the girl's teasing.

"You know I'm right, you just don't want to admit it," Bella said shrugging just a little bit.

Angela just rolled her eyes at the girl, and shrugged a little bit at what she said. "I'm not going to fight with you on this one, I just know you are far too determined to let me win this argument," she said, grinning a little bit at the situation at hand.

"That's right, you know who's boss," Bella said, smiling brightly at Angela before the girl shook her head at her a little bit.

"Whatever you say, Bella. But I have to go. They need me back in the kitchen soon. You can insist on this later tonight, tell me all about it. Sound like a plan?" she said, smiling a little bit at her friend.

"Alright. I have to go finish my laundry duty anyway," Bella said, standing up as she grabbed her dirty dishes and brought them to the place they would soak them for a little while. Once that was taken care of, Bella quickly made her way back to the laundry room to find that the clothing had dried and she quickly and gently folded everything up nicely.

Once that was taken care of, she carried the clothing carefully away to Edward's room, opening the door as it seemed that no one was there at that point in time, but when she opened the door, Prince Edward was sitting in one of the chairs by the window. Apparently waiting for her, or something and she froze a little bit. She had checked, he wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be training all day.

Why was he sitting there? Didn't he know that this was a problem? That he wasn't supposed to see her, ever? And that the last time was a complete fluke and wasn't supposed to be something that happened at any point in time, ever.

She did her best to be quiet as she entered the room, moving softly as she didn't want to disturb the prince. It would only end badly if she was really disturbing him by being in this room. Softly, she put the cloths away, until she felt the eyes of the Prince on her, studying her, and the next thing she knew, she was hearing his voice behind her.

"How are you today, Isabella?" he asked her and she just about fainted.

"I am fine today, your majesty. How are you?" she questioned softly as she worked on placing the pieces of clothing back into the drawers they belonged in.

"I am wonderful now that you have shown up, Isabella," his honey sweet voice said, slowly getting closer to her until he was suddenly next to her, sitting on the floor next to her and pulling an article of clothing out of her hands, his face almost impossibly close to hers as he smiled at her, "Let me help you, you do enough work as is. Today I have been hardly doing anything at all," he said to her, making her heart melt. Bella wanted to protest his helping her, that it was improper, that he shouldn't be doing this, that it was her job, not his, to take care of things like this, but she knew the argument was fruitless.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said softly as she sat there with her hand sin her lap, doing her best not to be obviously nervous about the situation at hand, she didn't want the Prince to know that she was feeling uncomfortable in his presence, albeit it was a very pleasant sort of uncomfortable that she was experiencing.

"It's no problem, Isabella, and please, do call me Edward. 'Your Majesty' is just far too formal for my liking," he said to her with a gentle smile as he continued to put his own clothing away as he knelt next to her.

"Yes, yo- Edward. You can call me Bella. That is what my friends call me," she said to him softly, wondering if it was even acceptable for her to be having any sort of conversation with the Prince. In fact, she was certain that it wasn't and that she was going to definitely regret having any sort of interaction with Edward in the least.

"Bella … I like it," Edward said, smiling at her gently before finishing the job for her and standing, offering a hand to help her stand.

Bella's eyes went wide, but she accepted his hand graciously. His palms felt incredibly soft against her own. The hands of a royal, even one that fought and such, were by far softer than that of a serving girl. She found it almost funny, but she didn't laugh. "Thank you, Edward, for all your help," she said, looking up at him, afraid that she would make him angry with her if she wasn't looking at his face when she addressed him, she had a feeling that he was one of those royals.

"It was my pleasure, Bella," he assured her with a gentle smile on his face as she stood there, her hand still in his, though when he realized he was still holding her hand he dropped it almost like he was afraid that she would be uncomfortable with the contact.

"Still, I thank you. It's not often that a servant is seen, let alone offered help, by someone as prestigious as yourself," Bella said to Edward, feeling far less worried about speaking to him now that he had initiated the conversation, and it made her wonder what on earth had him so interested in her. There really wasn't anything too spectacular about her personality, but apparently, he found her appealing for some very strange reason. Or at least she was sure she thought it was strange.

"I couldn't help myself. It didn't' seem right to let such a beautiful woman do all that work without at least helping somewhat," he said to her with a gentle smile, making a blush fly across her features and make her chest burn hot, or feel like it.

"Well, thank you Edward, I do appreciate it. Though I must be going now, I am sure I have more duties to perform today," she said to Edward, knowing that that wasn't true, though she would probably go back and see if there was anything else she could do to help out in the dining area.

"Wait, Bella, you don't have to go … I could excuse you from your other tasks today, if you wanted me to," Edward suggested, sounding a little nervous to Bella.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but I do. And I appreciate the thought, but it could get me in trouble if you did. Remember, we're not supposed to be seen by royalty," Bella pointed out to Edward, feeling strange that she was reminding him of the rules, she had always imagined that if some encounter like this happened, the roles would be reversed. The royal would be lecturing her on what the rules were supposed to be.

Edward just sighed at her and picked up her hand, placing his extremely soft lips to the back of her hand and she just about fainted at the contact. The sensation of his lips against her skin was delicious, and she couldn't help but want more of it, but she knew it wouldn't happen, she knew that what he was doing wasn't supposed to be allowed. She wasn't even supposed to linger like this, but for whatever reason, she was. "I suppose I have to let you return to your work, then, as much as I would like to keep you here," he said, sounding a little morose.

"I suppose. I would linger if I could, I would just rather keep my job is all," she said to him softly, feeling a little apologetic. In all honesty, she was surprised that she had even managed to find her voice after being in his presence. It was strange, talking to someone like Edward. Exchanging any sort of words with him was stunning, and she wanted more of his presence, as much as she could get from him.

"And I would like it if you would stick around. I would like to see you again, Bella," he said to her softly, brushing some hair that had fallen out of her hair binder out of her face, making her skin light on fire almost instantly at that small bit of contact. It was almost insane how much the sensation seemed to affect her.

All Bella could manage to do was nod in response to what Edward was saying, far too blown away by this conversation to muster up some words. Edward chuckled at her silence, but smiled at her gently, moving so he could allow her to leave the room, since had previously been blocking her exit, whether or not it had been intentional, that was what he had been doing.

"Bella," he said simply, "If I were to find a way to speak to you without fear of us getting into trouble, would you meet me and speak with me?" he asked her in his honey golden voice, his eyes pleading with her. With a man like him asking something of her, how could it be possible to refuse?

"Of course, Edward. Just say the word," she said, smiling at him a little bit before she exited the room, her heart thumping loudly in her chest and a blush hot on her cheeks as she thought about possibly sneaking out in the middle of the night speak to Edward. Or Edward finding her during the day time and hiding away with her in one of the little closets. All were fantastic thoughts and images.

She couldn't wait to tell Angela, all about what had just happened.

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**Well! That was my gradumactation gift to all of those that just read it as I am freshly gradumacated as of two days ago! Yay! Well, if people leave impressive reviews for me, I may consider putting up the next chapter sooner rather than later. :) Just a hint. Have a great day! **


	4. Finding A Way

**EPOV chapter! Enjoy!**

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Today he was determined to see her again. He was going to speak to her, he was going to do … something. Anything. He knew that Isabella had been assigned to his laundry once again, and as terrible as he felt for making her do that work, he knew that it was necessary if wanted to see her today, and he was certain that he was going to make it happen. Even if he had to sit in his room all day and pretend he was sick. He knew, then, that the girl would come into his room. Hopefully, hopefully she would respond well to his presence and would speak to him.

She had seemed fairly timid the first time they spoke, but he was hoping that now that she had met him once she would feel more comfortable in his presence. Even if that wasn't the case, he wanted to be certain to speak to her. There was just so much about her that intrigued him, that made him want to get to know her. So, the only time he left his room that day was when he had to go and get something to eat, returning quickly so he could await her arrival with his cleaned clothing from the day before.

Edward knew he went through quite the amount of cloths a day, but that was only because he felt the need to dress a specific way for each place he visited, for each event he attended. Though this next day the load of laundry that would be necessary was going to be far less than anything experienced in the past. But that was certainly only because he spent the day sitting in his room, waiting for Isabella to arrive. When she finally got there, he was floored by her beauty, the simple charm of her appearance had him wrapped up in just gazing at her for a good long while before he felt the need to speak, asking her how her day was before moving to her side, to offer her his help.

She had looked so frightened of his approach, of him helping her at all. And he felt awful about it, but there was no reason why he couldn't offer his help. Of course, she didn't protest, she sat there quietly, speaking when spoken to, though he really wished she would talk more. He was delighted when she called him Edward, and when she allowed him to call her what her friends did. Bella. It suited her just as well as Isabella did. It was just as beautiful as the other name.

And to know that she would willingly speak to him? If only he found a way? Well, that was exactly what he had wanted to hear. And he couldn't wait to take advantage of her willingness to associate with him. Any chance he would get to be with her, to be around her, he was going to take it. And in the process, he was going to change the way things were done in the castle, he didn't really want to wait to make these reforms until he was king, but instead begin setting things in motion now, before their customs became any more deeply rooted.

Now that he knew Bella would meet him, talk to him, he was certain that he had to tell his sister. This servant girl that had captured his attentions so effortlessly was definitely a topic of conversation that she found worthy of her time, and he was always happy to discuss Bella if he was able to. The only question was when he would get to do such a thing.

Quickly, he moved through the castle to his sisters room, knocking on it briskly before entering at the sound of her voice beckoning him inwards. "Alice! Great news!" he declared, moving over to where his sister was sitting and taking a place next to her with a rather bright grin on his face.

"I'm sure. What is this great news you have?" Alice asked, a bemused smile on her lips at her brothers over excitement.

"Well, that servant, Isabella, that I told you about? Well, she has agreed to see me more regularly. If I find a way to make it happen without getting either of us in trouble. And, Alice, I was wondering if you would be kind enough to help with that?" he asked, wondering how involved his sister was willing to get. He knew Alice loved the stuff of love stories, but he was uncertain whether or not she would be inclined to intervene when it came to real life at all. Though Edward had a feeling that she was most likely going to get more involved than he might like her to be, but any help he could get, he was going to gladly accept. At least for the time being.

It seemed to take Alice a moment to decide what she wanted to do before she looked at her brother and grinned brightly. "Of course! Anything to make my dearest brother happy. Besides, if we get caught I know the court adores me so we're more likely to get a lesser punishment – if any at all. The results might just be that things change for the better, we won't really know until we have to cross that bridge. But! Regardless, I want to help you out and I will figure out a way to do that. Maybe … maybe I can tell mother that I need a lady in waiting that I see? And that I would like to choose her? If you can give me more information about that serving girl, I can make sure I choose her and then she'll be allowed to be seen by us royals, since she will be in my presence quite frequently. We can work on getting more and more of the servants allowed to be seen, too, but I figure first and foremost you want to be able to see the servant girl without too much difficult, yes?" Alice said, smiling a little bit.

Edward smiled at his sister and nodded a little bit at her. This was all going much better than he could have ever possibly hoped things to go. "Her name is Isabella, but she typically goes by the name Bella," he informed his sister with a smile, and his mind began to wander slightly as he remember both of his far too brief encounters with the lovely Bella. He wasn't sure what it was that intrigued him so, or maybe it was just a combination of all her different features that had him so intrigued by her. Regardless of the reason, he still wanted to get to know her.

"Well, that's all well and good, but I would much prefer some more physical descriptions of her, okay? So when she's all lined up with the other girls and they're told not to talk until I ask them to speak, I can tell who's who? I can only ask them to talk a couple of times. So I am going to try and pick her out right off the bat, okay?" Alice said, "I think it'll be fun, besides, to have a lady in waiting. I've always thought about asking, but I've always managed okay by myself or with mom's help. But now, now with all the more importance with my appearance and all it might not hurt to have an extra pair of hands at my disposal," she said to herself with a smile.

"Okay then. She has chocolate brown hair and eyes that match. She's extremely pale, more pale than the others will probably be. She's almost as petite as you are, just a couple inches taller when she stands. When she speaks, her voice is quiet, but sounds like wind chimes delicately producing a melody in the wind, and so is rather pleasant to listen to. Is that enough, or do you need more?" Edward asked Alice, looking at her and raising an eyebrow in question. He was certain he was capable of saying more about Bella, but he was choosing not to at this moment, for the purpose of keeping himself from sounding like a sappy young lad.

Alice rolled her eyes at Edward but smiled gently. "Yeah, that's good enough. I'll ask a couple of girls their names to make it seem slightly random, and when I come across an Isabella that looks like she does, I will ask for her as my lady in waiting," she promised, smiling at Edward a little bit as she made the promise.

"If you pick the wrong girl, I promise I will blame you," Edward said seriously to his sister.

"Okay, whatever you say, lover boy," Alice said simply as she smiled a little bit before shaking her head gently at the situation at hand.

Edward just rolled his eyes at the comment, shaking his head at her. "I'm only not going to argue with that statement because you're agreeing to do this for me. And Alice, I promise, I will give you something in return for all of this. I don't know what, and I don't know when, but I promise I will make it up to you," he said to her seriously, meaning every word that he said.

"Oh, I know. And even if you didn't say it, I was still planning on making you make it up to me," Alice said simply, smiling brightly at her brother.

"Yeah, I figured," he said shaking his head at her gently.

"Good. Well, now you should run along and go do something productive for a little while," Alice told her brother essentially shooing him.

"Like what? I've been given no tasks at the moment, and there is nothing for me to do right now. So I suppose I have to bother you," Edward said, smiling.

"If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to start talking about Sir Jasper. Okay? And guess what else? I'm going to talk about how I plan on making him fall madly in love with me and sweep me off my feet, marry me, and everything else," she said to her brother with a slight smile.

"Oh, really? Well, I'll have you know that Sir Emmett has told me Sir Jasper has eyes for a particular royal woman in the court, but he won't admit it. Supposedly, he thinks that he isn't good enough for this particular lady," he said to Alice with a little bit of a smile.

"Is this true? And is Sir Emmett's word one we can trust?" Alice asked him.

"Assuredly," Edward said in an extremely serious voice before smiling at his sister and rising, preparing to leave the room and head back to his own quarters to figure out how he would next approach Bella once she was working as Alice's lady in waiting.

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to convince Sir Jasper that he is, indeed, good enough for me. After all, it's not like I'll ever be on the thrown. You're much too stubborn to ever end up dying prematurely," Alice said simply.

"And even if I did, Jasper would make an excellent king," he said to his sister before grabbing the door handle and waving a goodnight to her, getting a wave in return before he saw her do a little bit of a jump for joy in her seat. All Edward could do was shake his head at his sister and her actions.

Quickly, Edward made his way back to his room his head spinning, this thoughts occupied only by Bella and just how enchanting she really was.

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**If you enjoyed the chapter, do leave me a review with a little comment or at minimum a little smilely face. :) Just like that one. **


	5. Lady in Waiting

**My apologies for taking so long to update! But at least the new chapter is finally here! And it's BPOV so I hope you enjoy. :) **

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Bella had immediately rushed to find Angela, having the need to talk to the girl about everything that had just happened. She was certain that Edward had meant what he was saying, but at the same time, she couldn't understand how that could possibly be. How could someone of Edward's standing be even momentarily interested in her? She knew that this was probably just something he was doing to pass the time, something to entertain him when he wasn't working.

She supposed she was fine with all of this, allowing Edward to have his fun. After all, who was she to say no? Some lowly servant that wasn't even supposed to be seen by anyone besides other lowly servants like herself, of course. Bella was thinking that she might as well enjoy the ride if Edward was going to continue to try and speak with her like it seemed he was determined to do. But it was mind boggling, still. He was a man of such impressive standing, and was so charming, too, and yet he took interest in her?

It was far too much for one young woman to try and sort out on her own. Especially since she was hardly desirable in the least, or so she believed. After all, hardly any attention was paid to her by the male servants, and why should they? She was as drab as a dormouse. "Angela!" she called, trying to find the girl in the ruckus of the kitchen that was already winding down for the night, and she saw the woman heading over towards her.

"What is it? I'm still working, so we have to be fast," she said to Bella, only not leaving because she sense the urgency in her voice.

"Edward wants to see me again. More regularly. And I think he's serious," Bella whispered so no one else would hear. It would be scandalous if word got out about her being seen by Edward, and that Edward seemed to be purposely trying to speak to her, trying to interact with her in some fashion.

She saw Angela raise her eyebrows at Bella, "Well, then. We have some serious stuff to talk about later tonight. But not now, I have too much to do. I wish I could talk, but … gotta go," she said, looking at Bella with an apologetic smile before running off to do whatever it was that needed doing in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, Bella walked away, heading towards her room before slowly sitting down on her bed.

How on earth was she supposed to cope with this? Was she supposed to be thrilled? Her heart certainly thought so. It raced every time she thought about Prince Edward, and the way his eyes had seemed to follow her, his honey voice that made pleasant knots twist in her stomach, the urge to reach out and touch the side of his soft face and stand on her toes to place a gentle kiss on his …

No. She wasn't allowed to have these thoughts. She was only a servant girl. Servant girls were not allowed the luxury of fantasizing about royalty. It was disrespectful but … her mind couldn't seem to move away from such thoughts. And she couldn't help but wonder if Edward was feeling the same way about her, if he was pondering thoughts of her, not that she saw any reason that he would do such things, whatever reason he might have to be interested in her, she had yet to decipher.

And, not to mention, she was nervous about what lengths Edward might go to if he had truly wanted to see her more frequently without worry of prying eyes and disproval of many. She couldn't help but wonder if it was going to be something marvelous, or something that might involve more difficult labor. Bella suspected that if Edward felt towards her the way she felt towards him, it would be a mighty improvement of how her life was at the moment.

Rubbing her hands together for a moment, she lay back on her bed, letting out a bit of a huff as she was there, smiling a little to herself as she imagined running her fingers through Edwards hair. Maybe he would have her been his attendant or something … but that wouldn't make much sense. Having a woman constantly serving him in such ways? That could cast a poor shadow on his character. No, it wouldn't be something like that. Though she knew of Princess Alice, and supposedly he was very close with her.

Would he have told her about their interactions? Bella supposed there was a fairly good possibility of that happening. But would she agree to help him in whatever means he was asking her to? Most likely it would be for her to be a lady in waiting. Ah, to be a lady in waiting. It sounded far more pleasant than any job that she was doing as of the moment.

Sighing to herself, she waiting for Angela to arrive at their room so she could sort out her thoughts better with her. It was always easier to think when she had her friend there with her, talking sense into her as well as offering reasonable explanations. Certainly more reasonable ones than the notion that Bella was starting to get in her head, the notion that she was trying to abandon because there was no way there was any truth to it. Or at least she supposed that was the case, or that it had to be the case.

A Prince could never be falling in love for her … could he?

A few hours past as Bella lay on her bed, waiting for Angela to return to the room, but it seemed like the woman wasn't going to be coming back as of the moment, and so, Bella allowed herself to drift off to sleep, finding herself in it's warm cocoon, as thoughts of Edward drifted through her mind, consuming her dreams and making them pleasant ones.

She awoke at a normal time, seeing Angela sleeping on her bed, completely asleep. Gently pushing on Angela's shoulder, Bella made the effort to wake the woman so she wouldn't be late for her tasks for the day. Groaning in her sleepy state, Angela opened her eyes and looked at Bella. "What time is it?" she mumbled a little.

"The usual wake up," Bella informed her.

"Oh. Well, I was told to wait two hours today, because we were working so late last night that the cook wanted me to get some extra sleep. I think he's sweet on me or something, which I mean, isn't so bad, but … I am going to take advantage of the sleep thing now," she informed Bella.

"Alright, Angie. I'll come and wake you in two hours if I can manage it. I don't want you to oversleep or anything," Bella said with a smile, hearing Angela mumble an 'okay' as she fell back into sleep, Bella shaking her head as she moved through the building to the breakfast area, quickly eating before all the servants saw a petite, well dressed, woman coming down the stairs.

It was Princess Alice, everyone knew it.

All the servants were frozen in place as they stopped eating and talking at the appearance of this lady. "Close your mouths and stop starring," Alice said, putting her hands on her hips, and looking a little peeved at the awe in which all the servants were frozen at her appearance. It was only because royalty never directly interacted with them, and this was considered a once in a lifetime occurrence, as far as most of the servants here felt.

"Alright, well, I am here to choose a lady in waiting. The King and Queen agreed that it was a good idea, and that I should personally pick out my lady in waiting so I could be certain it was the woman I wanted to attend me for the next several years. Now, I need all the young men to move out of the way, to the tables on that side of the room, and I need all the young ladies to stand in a row, shoulder to shoulder. I will walk down the line of you, and you will tell me your name and age, understand?" Alice said, sounding regal as she addressed the room filled with servants.

Everyone slowly nodded, too awestruck for words, though Bella wasn't phased nearly as much by the appearance of Alice. She had almost been expecting it, and now that Alice was here, she couldn't help but be blown away at the fact that Edward had actually spoken to his sister about her. Because that was the only other explination as to why this regal woman was choosing now to pick out a lady in waiting.

If Alice chose her, well, then she knew that Edward would have set everything up.

Bella lined up with the other women, after having run to get Angela, and pulling the girl quickly out of bed and dragging her to the dining area before standing in line with all the other young women. They were at the end of the line, and Alice was only half way done when she had gotten Angela all the way back. The woman was keeping an indifferent face as she pointed at each girl to indicate that she should tell her what was instructed.

Finally, Alice reached her. "Isabella Swan, 17," she recited looking at Alice as a small smile broke across the woman's face. So, Edward had spoken to her. Backing away from the line of young girls, Alice seemed to tap her lip for a second, her eyes moving over all of them.

"I have made my decision. Isabella Swan? Please follow me and I will tell you your new duties as my Lady in Waiting and we will discuss what we much. Good day to the rest of you," she said, before turning on her heel and walking out, obviously intending for Bella to follow her out of this area. In a state of shock, she followed Alice, walking up the stairs and through the castle hallways, almost scared of being seen in this area.

Soon, they had reached Alice's room and were inside, immediately the woman turned to Bella and squealed. "Oh my god! You are exactly what my brother said you'd be like! No wonder he wanted me to choose you," Alice said, walking around Bella for a second.

"Um …," Bella said, not sure how she was supposed to respond to this extreme mood change from Princess Alice.

"Okay, first things first, we need to give you a bath and better clothing than this. It's alright, but if you are going to be with me for the next few years, we've gotta make sure you are dressed to perfection. Not to mention, I would love to see my brothers reaction to you in proper clothing other than the servants wear," Alice said, "Alright, I got the bath set up already, hot water and soap and all. I already bathed before I came to get you. Get yourself good and clean, and make sure you wash that pretty hair of yours really well. I am going to go find you a better dress to wear!" Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "We are going to be the best of friends!" she proclaimed before turning on her heel and leaving to find a dress for Bella, leaving the other woman stunned, shocked by the turn of events.

In a slight daze, Bella approached the tub that was in Alice's room, hidden behind a modesty screen. Or at least that was what she had always thought of it as. Taking off the dress she was wearing, she slipped into the still slightly warm water and lingered in it for a second, just letting herself soak, and then she saw a bar of soap sitting out for her and she got to work cleaning herself off good and proper. It seemed as if layers of dirt washed off of her skin from the many times she had not been able to truly bath.

It was astounding; to see how much more clear her skin looked once it had been washed like she was doing so now. Then, she saw something labeled as "shampoo" and another as "conditioner." The names didn't make sense to her, but she figured that since they weren't for the body, they were meant for her hair. Sitting up straight a little, she took the shampoo and put it on her hands before working it into her hair as she assumed it was supposed to be done.

She had never had the fortune of being able to clean her hair before, and it seemed that it was rather enjoyable, she quickly get rid of the suds in her hair, already feeling cleaner before using the conditioner, working that in, then getting it out before she pulled her head out of the water, running her fingers through her wet hair and marveling at how soft it seemed. Standing up in the tub, she looked around for something to dry herself off with, and she found a towel, picking it up and holding it outside of the water as she wrapped it around her body, drying herself off as she did so.

Bella heard the door open and peaked around the modesty screen to see Alice carrying a dress that was only slightly less impressive than the one that she was wearing, though it looked much easier to move in, more functional before fashionable. Thought it was certainly something much different than anything Bella had had the fortune of wearing before.

"Good! I see that you are nice and clean," Alice said, nodding before urging her over to her. "I have everything you need for this dress. Underthings and all, and they'll fit you better. I am an excellent judge of size. Also, I am going to dress you, so you know how to aid me, since I am certain you have never worked as a lady in waiting before. But you seem awfully nice, and Edward sings your praises, so I'm betting that you are going to catch on quick," Alice informed Bella.

"Your Majesty, forgive me, but I don't believe it is proper for you to be the one to dress me, you could just instruct me and I can do it myself," Bella said, not wanting to anger Alice, but feeling as if it would be silly to have the woman dress her.

"Don't be silly! And please, when we are in private you can call me Alice, as I will call you Bella. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so I want us to be comfortable with one another, you know? I'd rather you be a friend in private than never a friend at all, if that makes any sense. Anyway, drop the towel and I will help you dress," she informed Bella.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Bella did what she was told, before Alice approached her and assisted her in dressing. The dress that Alice had brought her was breathtaking, not as much as the one Alice wore, but she was certainly enchanted by it. The dress was a lovely blue color, that looked good against her skin, there was delicate silver stitching in the bodice, accenting her curves, especially now that she seemed to be required to wear a corset. She had to look presentable, after all. It was pulled as tightly as Alice's would have to be, and Alice promised that it wouldn't have to be that tight after today, but she wanted to give her the feel of what it needed to be like.

Finally dressed, Alice stood back from Bella, letting out a bit of a whistle. "I can see why Edward is so enchanted by you. Now, for the rest of the things. You will be sleeping in a room next to mine from now on. It's a little small, but it does connect to the servants quarters if you would like to visit friends or something at night, because I would hate to keep you from people you've connected with. You can lock that door from your side if you don't want anyone sneaking up on you, but you can leave it open for any friends of yours. All I ask is that they don't wake me up when I'm sleeping or be caught being seen in my room. I could care less if they are in here when I am awake and stuff, but I don't want them caught by others, since it might not go over so well. How does that sound?" she asked Bella.

"It sounds … wonderful," Bella said, smiling at Alice.

"Excellent. Now that we have everything established, I do believe I want to introduce my new lady in waiting to my brother," Alice said, winking at Bella and starting to head out the door.

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